Contributions of Siddhartha Gautama to Buddhism

Contributions of Siddhartha Gautama to Buddhism Ilinca Stingaciu Siddhartha Gautama, later known as the Buddha, is considered the founder of Buddhist religion. Many buddhist beliefs and teachings are based on the Buddhas discoveries and teachings. One of the most important ways in which the Siddhartha Gautama influenced Buddhism is by actually spreading the religion, and spreading this teachings to people, which drew in followers who continued to further spread buddhism (Alldritt, 2004, p. 25). After reaching enlightenment, Buddha found the answer to suffering, which is also referred to as the dukkha in religious scripts. Based on his realizations, he founded the Four Noble truths of suffering, an important concept in Buddhist teachings. The first of the truths, known as the Truth of suffering, essentially states that everything in life leads to suffering. The second truth, that of where suffering comes from, explains the realization that suffering stems from selfishness and cravings. The third truth teaches of the cessation or elimination of suff ering within ones life, and to let go of all cravings or desires that cause suffering (Gethin, 1998, p. 59).The fourth truth teaches what to do be able to eliminate suffering, essentially teaching followers how to come about attaining nirvana (Gethin, 1998, p. 80). The eightfold path, a common concept and symbol in Buddhism, was also established by the Buddha based on fourth of the Noble truths. This outlines eight concepts on how to live life, which guide a person to end suffering, and find fulfillment (Gethin, 1998, p. 82). Meditation is a key practice within Buddhist religion, one that like many, can be traced back the the Buddha. He taught followers how to meditate in order to separate themselves from their personal thoughts and emotions (Hope Van Loon, 1999, p. 38). He encouraged ideology that enlightenment and meditation is personal, so each person must find their way to enlightenment on their own (Ross, 1980, p. 4). Born into royalty, Siddhartha Gautama was raised in a life of luxury, sheltered from the realities of pain and suffering (Ross, p. 5). After one day going against his Fathers orders to stay within the palace walls, Siddhartha was given a tour of the city, where he learned of the three sufferings (Ross, 1980, p. 6). Outside, the prince saw the realities of illness, aging, and death. Siddhartha was scared of the fate of pain and death which awaited everyone, and no longer saw a purpose in anything after (Hope Van Loon, 1999, p. 13). He found no more value in wealth he had and in the pleasures of life, as he realized that it would all go to waste in the inevitability of suffering and death (Gethin, 1998, p.15). Siddartha wanted to find out how to find happiness, regardless of inevitable suffering (Ross, 1980, p. 6). He isolated himself from everyone, and sat under the Bodhi tree, until he fully understood suffering (Hope Van Loon, p. 19). Further inspiration came after Buddhas enlight enment. After discovering the true meaning of suffering, and how to accept it within ones life, he made it his mission to help others find this awakening, and understand the truth about suffering (Gethin, 1998, p.15). Although Buddha had attained Nirvana, he chose to stay on earth to teach others how to reach enlightenment just as he had. He believed everyone should have equal right be followers and learn the teachings of their religion (Ross, 1980, p. 5). This was his inspiration to spread Buddhist teachings, rather than to keep his awakening to himself (Ross, 1980, pg. 18). He drew in followers who continued to further spread Buddhism (Alldritt, 2004, p. 25), and encouraged followers to question everything he said in order to find a path to enlightenment on their own, in lieu of only following his word (Hope Van Loon, 1999, p. 7). He did not want to be seen as their religious leader, but rather as a teacher on how to reach enlightenment (Ross, 1980, p. 4). `All created things perish, he who knows and sees this becomes passive in pain; this is the way to purity. (The Dhammapada, verse 277). Through this quote are reflected many core buddhist teachings, as many teaching surround the idea of transience, from one life to the next. It exemplifies how in order to reach enlightenment, and to be free of pain and suffering, one must realize what suffering truly is, and why it is present within all life. Buddha saw that suffering stemmed from greed and desire. This belief was outlined through the second of the Four Noble truths, realizing where suffering comes from. He believed that in order to end suffering, one must give up materialistic and selfish desires The quote can be translated back into the ideology of the Four Noble truths, as these truths outline the meaning of suffering within ones life, truths that must be realized in order to find enlightenment (Gethin, 1998, p. 59). The quote alludes to the need for this clarity and knowledge of suffering to achieve enlightenment. One of the many teachings of the Buddha are the three Marks of Existence. The first is dukkha, which is suffering. The second is the teaching of impermanence known as anitya, stating that nothing lasts, as everything is a transition into something else. The third, anatman teaches to be selfless, in the sense that a person does not live forever, so nothing considered to be part of ones personality will live on. Analyzing these teachings, they can be related to the idea set out in the quote, that of continuity and the inevitability of dukkha, or suffering. Out of these, the anitya, the second teaching, provides the clearest link to the meaning of the quote.ÂÂ   Anitya teaches that nothing lasts forever, just as the quote states that everything ends and this must be realized, which are in part done by understanding the Three Marks (Alldritt, 2004, p. 24). References Alldritt, L. (2004, October). Buddhism. Retrieved from ebooks.infobaselearning.com/View.asp x?ISBN=9781438106380InstID=7469 The Dhammapada, (n.d.). Full books. Retrieved from www.fullbooks.com/The-Dhammapada. html Gethin, R. (1998). The Foundations of Buddhism. Retrieved from search.ebscohost.com/logi n.aspx?direct=truedb=nlebkAN=12334site=ehost-liveebv=EBppid=pp_59 Hope, J. Van Loon, B. (1999). Introducing Buddha. Cambridge, UK: Icon Books. Ross, N. (1980). Buddhism: A Way of Life and Thought. Location:Vintage Books.

Coles Sales Promotion Essay

Pacific managing director of Nielsen Consumer Group, saidâ€Å"It’s no surprise that consumers are increasingly concerned about their household budgets in response to such fluctuating economic conditions, and the cost-saving strategies currently being employed by consumers are likely to continue well into the year. †(Jessica Kennedy,2011)Due to the rising concern of the current unstable economic condition in Australia, the people have developed a tendency to save or spend only what is necessary. There is also a concern for the rising food and fuel prices and more and more people are looking for good deals and bargains for the basic necessities required to run a household. If this holds true to the working population then this will hold true even more to the student population in Australia who perhaps only have a part time job and live on a fixed budget. Market analysis: The student population contributes a lot to the economy of Australia. In 2008, the total tertiary student community in Melbourne was around 208,800 people and international tertiary student population numbering was at least 28,150 (Melbourne City Research, 2010). These numbers have steadily risen in the past years and will continue to do so. From this situation analysis, it can be derived that it would be a successful venture if fresh and frozen fruits and vegetables were offered at a discounted price by Coles to students in Melbourne for a limited period of time. And if the response is successful in Melbourne it can be an option to expand to other cities as well. Sales promotion pitch: Offering a 15% discount to students from the 1s of July to the 31st of July on all of Coles’ fresh and frozen fruits and vegetable line. SWOT analysis : Strengths:The current economic condition will help the response to a sale if it is held. It will attract the customers and increase revenue. It is also a healthy campaign as fruits and vegetables are being offered at a discount to students to encourage them to eat healthier and will boost the image of Coles. Weaknesses:The risk that the response may not be as enthusiastic as predicted from the target audience. Also that it is targeting a very specific segment of the market and that can be risky to the campaign if the response is not as predicted. Opportunities:The option to hold this sale every half year or more frequently if response is good and also in a larger number of cities. Threats: Competitors like Woolworths and Aldi may also put their items on sale to compete with Coles. Target Segment Demographics: Treating the market as heterogeneous, as all the people of Melbourne are not being targeted and they don’t have similar wants, the target profile for the campaign would look like the following : * Age|* Late teens and above| * Gender|* Male and female|Geographic area|* Melbourne| * Occupation|* Students| * Household size|* Living alone or with housemates| * Lifestyle and Habits|* Lives on a budget, tends to look forthe most reasonable prices, prioritizes saving andhas a slightly more healthy lifestyle. | The typical profile of the segment being targeted would be a College student who Lives alone or with housemates or in a dorm and who purchases their own groceries. Within the target audience there will be differen t views and attitudes about fruits and vegetables. The types of opinions are usually four in kind. They are: * The appreciators: will be the portion of the target market that like eating healthy and enjoy eating lots of fruits and vegetables. These people may be more health conscious and aware of the fact that fruits and vegetables are a very important part of the diet. â€Å" I love fruits and vegetables! They are a part of almost all of my meals for the day†* The acceptors: are the segment of students that eat a moderate amount of fruits and vegetables but also prefer meats and other food items.I like fruits and vegetables but I don’t like including them in all my meals, I prefer meat†* The resistors:this segment is not very fond of fruits and vegetables but eat them on occasion. â€Å"fruits and vegetables are ok but I would rather eat something else†* The rejecters: This portion of students is strongly against adding fruits or vegetables to their daily meals and would most definitely eat other foods ins tead. Insert refrence pg. 206 One of the purposes of the campaign is to try and get the percentage of the resistors and the rejecters to convert to either the acceptors or the appreciators. Time frame: The promotion will last for one month. Starting July 1st and ending July 31st. The duration chosen is during the offseason period where there are no big sales held otherwise. This will make it easier to persuade the target market to purchase their groceries at Coles as it will be cheaper to do so. It gives them an incentive to buy. 20 specimen subjects from Chisholm College that fit the target profile completed a survey about why they picked a particular store over another. Four fixed options were asked and the results were as follows: More than half, i. e 11 people out of 20, said that the main reason they choose a store was because of its low prices. 6 people said they choose a store according to how conveniently it’s located, 2 said it was because of loyalty to the store and 1 said because of good customer service. This further emphasizes the fact that if a sales promotion was held, the response would be enthusiastic and the campaign would be successful. Main Objective: * Increasing the sales of fresh, frozen and canned fruits and vegetables by 5 to 10 percent in the month of July. Initially only in Melbourne with an option to expand to other cities if the response is positive. Additional objectives: * Enhance customer loyalty * Create new customers * To reinforce brand advertising * Encouraging students to eat healthier Perception – achieve at least a 65% increase in awareness of the sales promotion in the firstweek Cognition – Achieve recall of discount period at Coles by at least 80% of the students in Melbourne Persuasion – Make the target audience want to go to Coles for their groceries rather than its competitors Emotion – Induce humor and fun through the advertisement Association – Associate Coles with the most reasonable prices and quality goods Behavior – Persuade at least 3% of the customers that shop at Woolworths, Aldi and other competitors to switch over to Coles Approach: The type of approach to be used for this promotion is the emotional approach and a soft sell strategy. Humor will be used a medium in the advertisement to allow students to relate to the campaign easily and for retention of the message to create the need to buy fruits and vegetables at Coles. An anonymous survey was conducted using 20 students in Chisholm College that fit the target audience. They were asked to state what kinds of advertisements they remembered the easiest out of a given three choices. Out of 20 students, 15 said humorous advertisements were the easiest to remember, 2 said informative and 3 said shock advertising. Pull promotional strategy: ‘ In a pull strategy, the manufacturer directs the majority of its promotional effort towards the ultimate consumer in an attempt to get them to pull the products through the marketing channel. ’ (McColl – Kennedy, JR, 1994) A pull promotional strategy creates a high degree of awareness amongst consumers and implants a desire and an interest for the product. This makes the customers to go to the retail store with the determination to find the product to purchase it and if it is not available they urge the retailer to stock up on it. This is the strategy that Coles is aiming at following as the message will be sent directly to the ultimate consumers who are in this case the students, urging them to purchase frozen, fresh and canned fruits and vegetables. And when the demand exceeds the supply, it will cause the Coles retail stores to urge the wholesalers and other links in the product chain to acquire the product causing a pulling effect through the marketing channel. Communication: In order to inform the potential customers about the promotion, effective and efficient advertising must be carried out. The use of Television, the internet, newspapers and magazines help in doing so. Since the target market is only students, it would also be productive to display the advertisements on social networking sites on the internet. To further reach students fliers can be put up on the notice boards and in the college magazines. Point of purchase displays also helps as it improves in store branding and keeps the customer informed. Having sales signs near the product also can lead to impulse buying. The key message sent out here would be that it is cheaper to buy your groceries at Coles than at any other supermarket. Eliciting the desired response: The main reason for fierce advertising and promotions is due to the reason that the sales promotion will be carried out for one month only. During this time period, Coles seeks to attract as many customers as possible to their stores in Melbourne. It is true that the potential customers go through a behavioral or psychological process before purchasing a product called a response hierarchy. The Coles advertisements and promotions seek to fulfill all the steps in this hierarchy chain.

How important was the fear of Trotsky becoming leader in explaining Stalin’s victory in the power struggle in the years 1924-1929? Essay

Everyone believed Trotsky would take leadership after Lenin died, even if they didn’t want him to. No one thought it would be Stalin. Therefore, Stalin felt he had to defeat Trotsky in order to become leader. However, the fear of Trotsky becoming leader isn’t the only factor in explaining Stalin’s victory in the power struggle. Lenin died, January 21 1924. This is when the Lenin Legacy begun. Stalin took it upon himself to give a speech at Stalin’s funeral; he personally swore to carry on the work of Lenin. As General Secretary he supervised the Lenin Enrolment (expansion of the party in tribute to Lenin). He published a book â€Å"Foundations of Leninism†, a basic understanding of Lenin’s ideas for the uneducated. Stalin emphasised his commitment to Lenin by dishonoring Trotsky and other Bolsheviks by saying they were unfaithful. Stalin used the Decree against Factionalism to accuse opponents of disloyalty to the memory of Lenin. Stalin used the Lenin Legacy to his advantage all the way through the power struggle. In 1924, when The Lenin Enrolment was announced, the party increased from 500,000 to over 1 million members by 1926. The new members were young, in-experienced and lacking education. This meant Stalin could easily influence them. Zinoviev and Kamenev both feared Trotsky’s power more than Stalin. They teamed up with Stalin, in order to over-throw Trotsky. He was unpopular as he was extremely arrogant. Thus when he missed Lenin’s funeral due to Stalin telling him the wrong date, he became even more hated. In a Marxist fashion, Trotsky travelled the world, informing people of world revolution. This meant Stalin could build a good relationship with Russia, persuading everyone he would carry on the work of Lenin. In December 1924, Stalin spoke of â€Å"socialism in one country† Trotsky strongly disagreed and as a result he was accused of Factionalism. In January 1925, the Central Committee removed Trotsky from the War Commissariat. From 1928 onwards Trotsky lived his life in exile before being murdered in 1940. Stalin had allied with Zinoviev and Kamenev but after Trotsky’s defeat they were concerned that Stalin had too much power within the Party. Kamenev was defeated, his lost control of the Moscow Party. However Zinoviev fought back, he held onto the Leningrad Party and attacked the NEP policy. They argued that it was capitalist and it was time to introduce rapid industrialisation. However, they also questioned Socialism in One Country, which meant the attack was also against Bukharin. They realised that without an international revolution they wouldn’t reach Marxism Utopia, as the economic backwardness of the country would destroy the Soviet Union. Therefore, Stalin and Bukharin united. Once again, Stalin accused Zinoviev of Factionalism. Bukharin’s popularity and Stalin’s control of the delegates allowed them to defeat Zinoviev. At the 14th Party Congress in December 1925, angry delegates shouted down the slander of Stalin and defeated the programme of Zinoviev and Kamenev by 559 votes to 65. 1926, Zinoviev lost control of Leningrad to be replaced as Chair of the Comintern by Bukharin. Following this, Zinoviev and Kamenev tried to form an alliance with Trotsky (he had spoke out about the NEP policy in 1924) but there was little trust between them. In 1926, they released copies of Lenin’s Political Testament but it didn’t work, they were seen as Factionalists. They were removed from The Central Committee and secret police were used to stop the Political Testament being published. They were sent to exile. Stalin had defeated the Left wing of the politburos; he now planned to attack the Right wing. By 1926, the Soviet Union was effectively ruled by Stalin and Bukharin. Stalin saw the NEP as a compromise with the peasantry. Ironically, he now agreed with the United Opposition’s policies to introduce rapid industrialisation. He turned against Bukharin, Rykov, and Tomsky. In November 1929 Bukharin lost his position in the politburo. Stalin used his powers as General Secretary to purge the trades’ leadership thus Tomsky losing his post on the Central Council of Trades Union and his place in the politburo in 1930. 21 December 1929, Stalin’s 50th birthday, Pravda call him â€Å"the Lenin of today†, Stalin had finally won the power struggle. When looking at all of the factors for why Stalin won the power struggle, the fear of Trotsky coming into power seems a small influence. However, it was the difference in personalities and different views for the county that kick started the power struggle. Trotsky did not fight for power; he simply fought for what he thought was right. Even though he was an ex-Menshevik, he kept closest to the theory of Marxism. For example, when he lost his role of The War Commissariat he didn’t fight back. He never believed he would be in charge because he was Jewish. While it was important, I do not believe the fear of Trotsky to be the crucial component in Stalin winning the power struggle. He was a vindictive creature that would go to the extremes to get what he wanted. His political genius was much more vital. Without it I don’t think he would have got where he did. He was cunning in the fact that he was able to not only defeat the bodies of the politburo but also, use their skills to his advantage and then turn against them. As well as this, being General Secretary was a big advantage, it allowed him to keep the Political Testament a secret. The Lenin Legacy was also extremely important. When he expanded the Bolshevik party, I believe he brainwashed many of the new members. He used their lack of education against them.

Risk factors in the transmission of alcoholism from parent...

Alcoholism is a major contributor to dysfunction in families today. Research has shown that children who are born to an alcoholic family are adversely affected by alcoholism in their development (Baker and Stephenson, 1995). Children of alcoholics possess a greater risk of acquiring alcoholism as a result of their parent ¡Ã‚ ¦s alcoholism (Reich, 1997). Within the body of this paper, this thesis will be supported. The text of this paper will list and describe risk factors in the transmission of alcoholism from parent to child, both specifically related to alcohol use and influences of a psychosocial nature. It has been speculated for some time that alcoholism has biological roots, being passed down to children from generation to†¦show more content†¦Ellis and Zucker believe genetic risk factors play a role in the acquisition of alcoholism, such as physiological responses to alcohol, and the process of metabolization. They feel inherited biology is a significant area where familial influence can influence a child in developing alcoholism. However, Ellis and Zucker go on to say that the child ¡Ã‚ ¦s psychosocial environment cannot be ignored, since there is much familial influence in this realm as well (Ellis Zucker, 1997). Family has a vital role in molding a child ¡Ã‚ ¦s future drinking behavior through the parents ¡Ã‚ ¦ behavioral example in using alcohol. Ellis and Zuckerman also cite the importance of the ways in which the parents sort out, understand, and teach their children the norms and standards of the general public in regards to alcohol. Ellis and Zuckerman wrote,  ¡Ã‚ §Accordingly, the modeling of parental drinking behavior, the development of alcohol expectancies, and ethnic differences in drinking practices all make up the environmental family influence that are related to children of alcoholics alcohol use ¡Ã‚ ¨ [electronic version]. Jacob and Johnson similarly point to recent studies that suggest that a persons ideas regarding the effects of alcohol can be significant markers of alcohol use and abuse. Additionally, studies evaluating the impact of parental drinking on the development of childrens alcohol expectancies have revealed three key issues (Jacob Johnson, 1997). The firstShow MoreRelatedAlcohol And Substance Abuse : An Individual Behavior That Reflects Underlying Dysfunction921 Words   |  4 Pagespredictor of antisocial behaviors and substance abuse (Velleman, Templeton Copello, 2005). A child s family is responsible for the socialization process. It is important that the family helps the child socialize in a way that helps them adjust to the demands and possibilities of their environment and social circle. 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